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Samurai
Origin The Samurai were originally 1 out of every 3-4 men of Japan that were drafted into the military by a law created by Emperor Mommu under the Taihō Code of 702 AD.These men were required to supply their own weapons and in return had their taxes paid for them and their duties exempted.It was called gundan-sei(軍団制) by historians and was short lived. The military men drafted by Emperor Mommu were not refered to as samurai for centuries. History In 701 AD at the request of Emperor Mommu the Taihō Code was created. It's purpose was to reform Japan's Government to model the system of China's Tang Dynasty. Heian Period (794 - 1185 AD) In the 8th and 9th centuries Emperor Kammu sent an army to expand his rule in northern Honshū, but the armies sent to conquer the rebelious Emishi people lacked discipline and motivation.Emperor Kammu introduced the title ''Seitaishogun ''or Shogun and relied on powerful clans to conquer the Emishi. The clansmen were skilled in mounted combat and archery and later became the emperor's perfered weapon to quell rebelions. Through marriage and powerful positions in Japan many powerful clans around Kyoto () gained political power, weakening the emperor's political power.The power allowed the clans to surpass Japan's traditional aristocracy. Some clans were originally formed by farmers who've taken arms to protect themselves from the imperial magistrates sent to govern their land and collect taxes.These clans formed alliances to protect themselves against more powerful clans.In time they used characteristic japanese armour and weapons such as : the katana, the wakizashi, the yumi, and kikou armor. Around the same time as the katana became widely used by samurai the ethic code of Bushido was founded.The samurai then were those who followed Bushido or "The Way of the Warrior".After the mid-Heian period the samurai followed the many feudal lords of Japan. Kamakura Period (1186 - 1333 AD) Originally the emperor and nobility employed the samurai, though many alliances and debt lead to a samurai-based government by the 12th century known as the Kamakura bakufu (tent government).The Minamoto and Taira clans held the most power in Japan during this time. The founder and first of the Kamakura shogunate was Minamoto no Yoritomo who was the first to use the samurai against other samurai in the Genpei War against Taira no Kiyomori of the Taira clan. This first major battle was in 1180 when Yoritomo was defeated at Ishibashiyama, during his early years as chief where he spent his time dealing with the warrior aristocrats of the Kantō area. From 1181 to 1184 a de facto truce with the court whom were largely in favor of the Taira clan, gave Yoritomo the time to build an administration of his own centered in his military headquaters of Kamakura.In 1185 Yoritomo defeated the Taira clan at the Battle of Dan-no-ura.This victory created a feudal age of Japan that lasted until the 1800s. The samurai began commonly using the yari ,a type of spear, by the end of this period. By the Muromachi period the popularity of the yari overtook that of the yumi. Muromachi Period (1336 - 1573 AD) This period was influenced by the Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga Takauji that was established in 1336 marking the beginning of the Muromachi Period.The Ashikaga bakufu took over the remnants of the imperial government, whereas Kamakura coexisted with the Kyōto court.The Ashikaga was not as powerful as the Kamakura and was greatly preoccupied with the civil war.This civil war was the result of a shifting power between the shogun and the regional daimyo. Gekokujō(下克上), translated as "the underling conquers the overlord".Many clans were subjugated in the period of Japan's history.Most notable examples are: the Hōjō subjugated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Hosokawa clan by the Miyoshi, the Shiba clan by the Oda clan, and the Toki by the Saito. Oda Nobunaga is one of the best examples of a samurai during the Muromachi period.He was the well-known lord of the Nagoya area (once called Owari Province). He came close to the unification of Japan, setting a path for his successors to follow.The end of the Muromachi Period was with Nobunaga defeating the Ashikaga shogunate.Nobunaga was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, one of his generals. Nobunaga's allies, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the Ieyasu shogunate.Hideyoshi was one of Nobunaga's top generals whereas Ieyasu was his childhood friend. Hideyoshi passed a law where only samurai could possess weapons as well as heralding samurai.Ieyasu Unified Japan making Nobunaga's dream become true. The Shizoku In 1853 a U.S. fleet under the command of Matthew Perry entered Japan's harbors. The samurai were unable to act on the "attack all foreign ships". This unability led to Emperor Meiji to abolish the samurai's right to be the only armed force in Japan in favor of a more modernized western-style, conscripted army in 1873.Samurai became Shizoku, who retained some of their salaries but lost the right to wield a katana and execute any commoner who paid them disrespect. The abolishment of the samurai class with the Meiji reforms led to many samurai to volunteer to be western'style soldiers. The last samurai-conflict was in 1877 during the Satsuma Rebelion in the Battle of Shiroyama.This battle was provoked by the uprising to defeat the Tokugawa shogunate.This led to the Meiji Restoration. The newly formed government aimed at weakening the feudal domains and the dissolution of the samurai. The samurai became known as Shizoku until World War Two. Bushidō "The Way of the Warrior", or Bushidō has zen, buddhist, and shintoist influences. From Buddhism, bushidō gets its relationship to danger and death. The samurai do not fear death because they believe as Buddhism teaches, after death one will be reincarnated and may live another life here on earth. The samurai are warriors from the time they become samurai until their death; they have no fear of danger. Through Zen, a school of Buddhism one can reach the ultimate "Absolute." Zen meditation teaches one to focus and reach a level of thought words cannot describe. Zen teaches one to "know thyself" and do not to limit yourself. Samurai used this as a tool to drive out fear, unsteadiness and ultimately mistakes. These things could get him killed. Shintoism, another Japanese doctrine, gives bushidō its loyalty and patriotism. Shintoism includes ancestor-worship which makes the Imperial family the fountain-head of the whole nation. It awards the emperor a god-like reverence. He is the embodiment of Heaven on earth. With such loyalty, the samurai pledge themselves to the emperor and their daimyo or feudal landlords, higher ranking samurai. Shintoism also provides the backbone for patriotism to their country, Japan. They believe the land is not merely there for their needs, "it is the sacred abode to the gods, the spirits of their forefathers . . ." (Nitobe, 14). The land is cared for, protected and nurtured through an intense patriotism. Along with these virtues, Bushidō also holds justice, benevolence, love, sincerity, honesty, and self-control in utmost respect. Justice is one of the main factors in the code of the samurai. Crooked ways and unjust actions are thought to be lowly and inhumane. Love and benevolence were supreme virtues and princely acts. Samurai followed a specific etiquette in every day life as well as in war. Sincerity and honesty were as valued as their lives. Bushi no ichi-gon, or "the word of a samurai," transcends a pact of complete faithfulness and trust. With such pacts there was no need for a written pledge; it was thought beneath one's dignity. The samurai also needed self-control and stoicism to be fully honored. He showed no sign of pain or joy. He endured all within--no groans, no crying. He held a calmness of behavior and composure of the mind neither of which should be bothered by passion of any kind. He was a true and complete warrior.